On Thursday evening, Tesla delivered its first production semis, five years after unveiling the Tesla Semi. The trucks were delivered to PepsiCo.
Last week, with smoke, strobe lights and a catchy techno beat to set the mood, Tesla CEO Elon Musk personally drove one of his vehicles in front of a cheering crowd gathered in Sparks, Nevada, for the delivery.
The trucks, which Tesla claims are three times more powerful than all diesel trucks currently on the road, represent “a step change” in the road transport sector, says Elon Musk. “At Tesla, we don’t make slow cars,” he adds. When the truck is not towing anything, “it looks like an elephant moving like a cheetah”.
Less than 2 kWh of energy per kilometer
The vehicles have also been designed to be efficient, consuming less than 2 kWh of energy per kilometre. Tesla claims they can travel 800 km on a single charge.
“People may wonder why build a tractor-trailer,” notes Elon Musk. Tesla’s mission, he replies, is “to accelerate sustainable energy” by electrifying all major forms of transportation.
The Tesla boss pointed out that while millions of passenger vehicles are sold each year, only a few hundred thousand tractor-trailers are sold. However, considering the number of hours driven and the weight they carry, these trucks are responsible for about 20% of US vehicle emissions.
“From a health point of view (…) the impact is enormous,” he insists. “In addition to climate change and global warming issues…this will fundamentally improve the health of people living near highways. »
Source: ZDNet.com